


Perfect

by Spikedluv



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Child Death, Community: Numb3rs Ficathon, Incest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 22:39:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikedluv/pseuds/Spikedluv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don has a tough case that Charlie can’t help him with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first N3 fic, written for the first round of Numb3rs Ficathon on LJ.
> 
> Spoilers through 'Sniper Zero'.
> 
> Warning: The case involves the death of a young child. There are no graphic descriptions.
> 
> Originally Posted to LJ: September 9, 2005

Don was still on the porch where Charlie had left him after peeking out the window to make sure he was all right. He was sitting on the glider, elbows resting on his knees and head hanging low. Charlie wasn’t sure if his eyes were closed or if he was staring at the chipped paint on the porch floor. Or if he was seeing nothing. Don straightened slowly, as if his back hurt, when the screen door squeaked as Charlie pushed it open and stepped out onto the porch.

“Hey,” Charlie said.

“Hey, buddy.” Don tried to smile, but couldn’t quite pull it off.

“I wasn’t sure which you needed more.” Charlie held up both hands to indicate the steaming mug of soup in one and the bottle of beer, condensation already beading up due to the night heat, in the other. Don reached out for both and Charlie handed them over before sitting beside him.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Don took a long swallow of the beer and then placed the bottle between his knees so he could eat the soup. Charlie remained quiet while Don ate. He already knew why Don was here—Don always came home, came to Charlie, when he needed to regain his balance, and this latest case had been difficult. Charlie also knew that Don had pushed himself to solve the case and that eating would have fallen lower and lower on his list of priorities the longer it dragged on.

When it was empty, Don set the mug on the floor and took another long pull off the beer bottle before leaning back in the glider, his shoulder brushing Charlie’s. Charlie pushed off with his toes and sent the glider into an easy swinging motion. Don drank the beer and played with Charlie’s fingers while they sat in silence, staring out at the backyard and the stars visible in the night sky.

“I really needed this,” Don said, and Charlie knew he was talking about more than the soup and beer, though he’d needed them as well. “How’d you know I was out here?”

“Terri called, and then I saw the car in the driveway.”

Don nodded.

“Why didn’t you come find me?”

Don gave Charlie a sheepish smile. “Thought I wanted to be alone.”

Charlie didn’t remind Don that if he’d really wanted to be alone he’d have gone to his apartment instead of coming here. He threaded his fingers with Don’s and continued the gentle rocking. Charlie broke the silence only to say, “I’m here if you need to talk about it.”

Don didn’t reply. He finished his beer and set the bottle on the floor beside the mug, then relaxed back into the glider, his head lolling to the side until it fell onto Charlie’s shoulder.

“Where’s Dad?”

“Bowling.”

Don lifted his head to look at Charlie, surprise showing clearly in his eyes. “Bowling, really?”

Charlie grinned. “No. Tonight’s book club.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Don dropped his head back down. “What time is it?”

“Past ten.”

There was more silence and Charlie thought Don was falling asleep until he said, “Did Terri tell you?”

Charlie hesitated. “Only that you arrested the father. And that it was hard on you.” Which he’d already known anyway.

“Yeah, it was...tough.”

Charlie waited patiently despite feeling Don tense up beside him. He almost wished that Don had fallen asleep; maybe when he woke up things wouldn’t look so grim. Don pushed himself up and away from Charlie, but didn’t let go of his hand.

“God, her own _father_!” He ran his free hand through his hair, a move he’d probably done a dozen times already that day, and in the three preceding it.

*~*~*

Charlie and Don had been playing a friendly game of one-on-one that had taken a competitive turn in the driveway Saturday morning, with Charlie ahead by two points when Don’s cell phone rang. Don had grabbed the rebound and was taking the ball out for change of possession. He bounce-passed the ball to Charlie, laughing breathlessly as he jogged over to where his jacket lay on the grass.

“Saved by the bell.”

Charlie snorted as he pivoted and took the shot. “Nothing but net!”

He snagged the ball, then dribbled it over to Don. His serious expression and clipped tone told Charlie that the call was work-related, and he already knew Don would be leaving.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when Don ended the call.

“I have to go,” Don said, distracted by his attempt to clip the phone to a non-existent belt before realizing and slipping it into the pocket of his sweat pants. Charlie’s face must have shown his disappointment. “I’m sorry, buddy.”

Charlie shook his head. “I know. They wouldn’t call you in if it wasn’t important.”

“It is,” Don said.

“Can I help?”

“Nothing for you to do right now.” Don tugged on one of Charlie’s curls before getting into the car and driving away with one last wave.

When Charlie didn’t hear from Don by Sunday morning, he packed a change of clothes for Don and picked up breakfast for the two of them, along with enough to share if Terri and David were there. Charlie didn’t need the excuse, but he felt better having a reason to stop in so it wouldn’t look like he was checking up on Don. Not that everyone wouldn’t know he was stopping in to check up on Don anyway, but still.

Don was conducting a meeting in the conference room when Charlie arrived. Charlie watched him through the glass. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. Charlie waited impatiently while everyone filed out of the conference room. Terri gave him a small smile and wave before heading to her desk with an armful of folders.

“Hey, Charlie,” David said, his tone distracted.

Charlie nodded and returned the greeting, but his attention was focused on Don. Once he was alone, Don leaned against the table and motioned Charlie in with a tilt of his head.

“Hey, Charlie, what’s up?”

Charlie held up both hands in which he held the duffel and several takeout bags that held their breakfast. “I figured you’d need a change of clothes and something to eat.”

Don managed to look pleased and annoyed at the same time. “Charlie, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” Charlie said.

Don finally relented with a small nod. He breathed deeply, then said, “I could probably use a shower, but I’m not very hungry.”

Charlie sat the bags on the table to free his hands, then moved the duffel to one of the chairs. “You can’t think if you don’t eat,” he said automatically, repeating the words Don had used to lure him away from his books and blackboards on many occasions when they were growing up.

The first time Don had said that, Charlie remembered, he had been so afraid that his brain would stop telling him the most interesting things that he’d burst into tears. Don, frantic and scared, had taken Charlie into his arms and rocked him until Charlie could tell him what was wrong. Instead of laughing at him, Don had patiently explained the need for nutrition, for both body and brain, and assured him that his brain wouldn’t stop working, but it would slow down if he didn’t eat. Despite that, Charlie still sometimes forgot to stop and eat.

Charlie ignored Don’s snort and began unpacking the food. He pulled a cup of coffee out of the last bag with a flourish and presented it to Don.

“You’re a godsend.” Don took the cup and sank into the nearest chair, doctored it, and took a sip. After the third sip, he said, “That smells good.”

Charlie pushed a sandwich over to Don and then unwrapped his own. They ate in a companionable silence during which Charlie’s eyes skimmed from Don, where he took an inventory of Don’s physical appearance to make sure he wasn’t pushing himself too hard, to the whiteboard, where a picture of a small child had been taped and someone had scribbled a time line that began with the ominous words, “Reported Missing” followed by Friday’s date.

He was curious about the case that had called Don away on their day off, but he didn’t want to cut short this peaceful moment. He watched Don ball up the wrapper and shoot it towards the wastebasket in the corner.

“Score.”

Charlie grinned, glad to see Don enjoying himself, even if for a brief moment. Don grinned back.

He must have noticed Charlie’s glances at the whiteboard, because he became more serious and said, “A four-year old girl was abducted from her yard the day before yesterday.”

Before Charlie could reply, Terri appeared in the doorway. “Don.”

“Terri.” Don snagged a sandwich and tossed it to her. “Charlie brought breakfast.”

“I could kiss you,” Terri said as she unwrapped the sandwich.

Don looked at Charlie under his lashes, which made him tingle in places that shouldn’t be tingling while they were at work. Terri took a bite and moaned her appreciation before turning her attention back to the case. She handed a piece of paper to Don and said, “Interview of one of the neighbors, Mrs. Kane. She lives across the street and two houses down. In the interview she mentioned how cute Zoe looked with her brand new book bag.”

Don sat up straight. “Daycare?”

“That’s my guess. I went through the list of interviews; there was no daycare provider listed.”

“What about the parents?”

“Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Tibbs mentioned that Zoe attended daycare.”

Don glanced down at the transcribed interview and read it over before looking back up at Terri. “What do you want to do?”

“She’s on Bill’s list for re-interview. I think we should move her to the top of the list and make sure to ask the other neighbors about daycare.”

“Why not just ask the parents?” Charlie asked.

“I’d like to wait until we’ve got more corroboration before we alert them,” Terri said.

Charlie was confused. “You don’t think it was just an oversight?”

“I know they’re upset and in shock, but the fact that your daughter attends daycare everyday is a pretty big fact to forget to mention. Especially when you consider that whoever took her might have seen her there first and followed her home.”

Don raised his eyebrows. “You think the parents know something they’re not telling us?”

Terri shrugged. “It just feels off.”

Don nodded. “Okay, tell everyone to cover this in their interviews, and have Bill put Mrs. Kane at the top of his list.”

Terri nodded back, then took the interview from Don. She held up the sandwich in silent thanks, and then headed back to her desk.

“Where’d you get that?” Charlie heard David ask. When he appeared in the doorway Charlie tossed a sandwich to him. “You are a hero, man.”

“So I’ve heard,” Charlie said, grinning. He turned to Don after David left. “You probably need to get back to work.”

Don rubbed his thumb over the table. “She was taken from her own yard on Friday afternoon and no one saw anything. The parents received a ransom note yesterday morning, and since they hadn’t turned up any obvious leads, the detectives in charge of the investigation suggested that they call the FBI in. We set up at the parents house, but the kidnappers never called.”

Charlie knew that didn’t bode well for Zoe. He wanted to say something reassuring, but Don knew the odds better than he did.

“We’re going over all the interviews that LAPD did and re-interviewing everyone to see if they’ve remembered anything new.”

“You think Terri’s onto something?”

“It’s not much, but it’s an anomaly.”

Despite the circumstances, they both managed a feeble grin.

“Okay,” Charlie said, standing. “I’ll let you get back to work. Don’t forget to shower.”

Don rose with him. “Yes, Dad.”

“You’ll feel better,” Charlie couldn’t resist adding. “And you’ll find whoever took her.”

“I just hope it isn’t too late.”

“Me too.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

“Okay.” Charlie patted his pockets to make sure he had his office keys.

“Where are you going now?”

“CalSci. Larry wanted me to go over some equations for him. I told him I would if you didn’t need me for anything.”

“Have fun.”

“I will. Call me if I can do anything.”

“I will.”

*~*~*

That night Don showed up in time for supper.

“Hey,” Alan said. “I didn’t think we’d see you tonight.”

“Is it okay...?”

“Of course it’s okay. I just put the bread in, so it’ll be a couple minutes. You have time for a shower if you want one.” He disappeared into the kitchen.

Don slowly lowered himself into one of the dining room chairs with a tired moan. “Dad made bread?”

“No.” Charlie finished setting a third place in front of Don. “He got the frozen kind.”

Charlie walked behind the chair and placed his hands on Don’s shoulders, squeezed.

“Oh, god, Charlie.”

Don’s shoulders were knotted and Charlie dug his thumbs in. Don groaned.

Alan peeked his head out from the kitchen. “You’re not killing him, are you? I’ve only got two sons, I’d like to keep them both.”

Charlie smiled. “He only _looks_ like death warmed over.” When Alan pulled back into the kitchen, Charlie leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of Don’s head. He was still massaging Don’s shoulders when Alan reappeared with a pot of soup, which he placed on the hot pad in the center of the table.

Charlie lifted his hands from Don. “Need any help carrying?”

“Sit down. I just need to get the bread.”

Don seemed to come a bit more alive when he smelled the food.

“What is it?”

“Soup,” Charlie said as he sat. “Dad started it this morning, it’s been simmering all day.”

“And someone’s been sneaking tastes of it, don’t think I didn’t notice.” Alan set the breadboard on the table and then sat down.

“I had to test it.” Charlie reached for the ladle and filled everyone’s bowls.

Don was mostly silent during the meal, but Alan filled the silence by telling him how he’d tried to show Charlie how to fix the furnace when it acted up.

He chuckled. “God, I wish I had a camera.”

“It was not that bad.”

“Uh huh.”

Alan chuckled again, and Don smiled, either at the image Alan’s story had conjured or at their antics at the table, but Charlie could tell he was distracted and tired. Don turned down dessert and Alan shooed him upstairs when he started to clear his place.

“You’re falling asleep at the table, go get some sleep. Charlie and I can do this.”

Charlie helped clear the table and then had a piece of cake with Alan in front of the television where they tried to guess the questions on Jeopardy. When Alan changed the channel at eight, Charlie took their plates out to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher.

“I’m gonna check on Don before I get busy.”

“Okay.” Alan sounded distracted, his attention already caught by his program. “Don’t wake him up if he’s sleeping.”

“I won’t.”

Charlie took the steps as quietly as he could, avoiding the spots that creaked from experience. He pushed Don’s door open and peeked in.

“I’m awake.”

Charlie slipped into the room and closed the door behind him. He found Don’s bed by memory, glad Don hadn’t left his shoes in the way since his eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the darkness, and sat on the edge.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Can’t stop thinking.”

Charlie placed his hand on Don’s chest and slid it up to his shoulder. The muscles beneath his hand were tight.

“No wonder you can’t sleep, you’re way too tense. I know just what’ll help with that.

“Charlie!” Don’s whisper was indignant. “Dad’s right downstairs.”

“I meant a back rub, you pervert.” Charlie lowered his forehead to Don’s and grinned, despite the circumstances.

Don fought an answering, if slightly sheepish, grin. “Oh.”

Charlie kissed Don, a soft brush of lips, something he’d wanted to do since he saw Don at the office that morning. He felt the muscles beneath his hands start to relax, so he kissed Don again, squeezing his shoulders as he teased Don’s lips apart with his tongue. Charlie moved his hands down Don’s chest, kneading his muscles through the t-shirt.

He lifted off the bed so he could push the blankets down, then tugged Don’s t-shirt up so he could touch his skin. Don moaned into his mouth as Charlie’s light touch tickled his belly, then groaned when Charlie thumbed his nipples. He lifted his hands, cradling Charlie’s head with one and clutching at his shoulder with the other, and brought their tongues together. Charlie turned his head and deepened the kiss. He continued to tease one of Don’s nipples as he slid his other hand down to the waistband of his boxers.

“Charlie!” Don’s voice was raspy and breathless. “What about the back rub?”

Charlie couldn’t take his eyes off Don’s face. He loved looking at Don when he was like this; flushed with desire, his lips a little swollen. He moved his other hand down to Don’s boxers, lifted the elastic and pushed them down. “I like your idea better.” Charlie wrapped his fingers around Don and squeezed. Don stiffened in his hand. “So do you.”

“Charlie, what about Dad?”

Charlie knew that Don was right. They were normally very careful not to do anything at the house when Alan was home. They’d only ever broken that rule twice, once when Don had come home with stitches from a knife wound, and once when Charlie had almost been the victim of a sniper. And this would be the third. Because Don needed this, and so did Charlie.

“He’s watching his program,” Charlie said, then kissed Don again as he stroked him to full hardness.

Once the decision had been made, Don was completely onboard. He twisted his fingers in Charlie’s hair and wrapped his arm around his back, pulling him close. Their tongues tangled as they alternately fought for and conceded control of the kiss. Charlie wanted to climb onto Don and bring their bodies together, but this was for Don. He sucked on Don’s bottom lip as he pulled back, sliding further down the bed.

“Charlie?”

“We had chocolate cake for dessert,” Charlie said. “You’ll have to take some to work with you tomorrow.”

“What?”

Charlie bent down and licked up the length of Don’s cock.

“Oh, christ!”

Don’s mind might have been all snarled up with thoughts of the case he was working on, but his body belonged to Charlie. It recognized his touch and reacted automatically. Charlie took Don into his mouth, holding him gently as he swirled his tongue around the head. Don breathed through his mouth, harsh, ragged sounds.

Charlie took Don in further, sucking while he worked his tongue against the underside. He slipped one hand between Don’s legs and gently cupped his balls. Don’s hands found Charlie’s head again, and he buried his fingers in Charlie’s hair. Charlie curled his fingers against Don’s belly, kneading like a kitten as he lifted up and then went back down on Don.

Don pressed on Charlie’s head and tugged on his hair as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted Charlie to do. Charlie moaned around the cock in his mouth. Tremors shook Don’s body, and then he tensed beneath him. Charlie pulled off so he could swallow without choking, and then continued to lick Don clean until Don made a little sound of protest.

Charlie gently released him and crawled up so they could kissed. “I love the way you taste.”

Don gave him a sleepy smile and his eyes drifted shut. “Charlie.”

Charlie pushed his fingers into Don’s hair. “Sleep,” he whispered.

“Just for a minute,” Don whispered, and then he was out.

Charlie fixed Don’s boxers and then pulled the blankets back over him. With one last kiss, Charlie left Don to sleep and went to the bathroom to take care of himself before heading downstairs to review his lesson plan.

*~*~*

Don was already gone when Charlie woke up the next morning and he didn’t see him again until Tuesday night. He called the office Monday after his last class, but Don was in a meeting. When Don called him back several hours later he sounded gruff when he asked what Charlie wanted.

“I just wanted to see how you were.”

“Frustrated, Charlie, that’s how I am! And up to my neck in background checks and more witness interviews.”

Charlie didn’t say anything, and after a deep sigh and a moment of silence, Don brought him up to speed on the case, almost as if he needed to use him as a sounding board. Charlie was a little bit surprised and couldn’t help the tiny jolt of pleasure it gave him.

He didn’t like it, but Charlie understood what it meant to be the younger brother, the genius who was easily distracted and sometimes forgot to do even the simplest of things, like eat. Understood that, despite the fact that he was nearly thirty years old and had worked with Don on over a dozen cases, Don still felt the need to protect him.

Charlie knew, as well, that some small part of Don still resented the fact that there were times he needed Charlie’s help to do his job. That Don felt comfortable discussing a case with Charlie that he hadn’t even been called in to consult on brightened Charlie’s day considerably.

“We went to the daycare and spoke to the woman who runs it, as well as her assistant and the aide.”

“What did she say?”

“She remembered that Zoe had the sniffles on Wednesday and complained of a sore throat. She told Mrs. Tibbs when she picked Zoe up and wasn’t surprised when Zoe wasn’t dropped off on Thursday or Friday.”

“Have you talked to the parents yet?”

“Terri did.”

“And?”

“Mrs. Tibbs started crying, said she hadn’t even thought of mentioning the daycare. She told Terri everything she could think of. Neither one of them seems to think anyone at the daycare had anything to do with Zoe’s disappearance. They also confirmed that Zoe was sick. Mrs. Tibbs had an important presentation due at work this week, so Mr. Tibbs stayed home with Zoe because he could work from home.”

“If Zoe was home sick, why was she playing in the yard?”

“Mr. Tibbs said that she woke up that afternoon feeling better so he let her go out to play while he finished up some work.”

Charlie heard someone call Don’s name and then Don said, “Sorry, Charlie, I gotta go.”

*~*~*

It had been over twenty-four hours since they’d last talked. Charlie forced himself to wait patiently for Don to speak. He knew from experience that this was one of those times he’d get more out of him if he resisted the urge to rush him into talking before he was ready.

“It was just so senseless. I mean, most death is, but this.... She was so young. So much potential lost because she was crying and her father couldn’t get her to quiet down. He said....” Don squeezed Charlie’s hand. “He said that she just wouldn’t shut up, like that makes it okay for him to shake her until she’s dead. Christ.”

Now that Don had started to let it out, Charlie felt it was okay for him to speak. “How did you figure it out?” If he could get Don to focus on the legal aspects of the case maybe he could forget, for just a minute, that a four-year old child had lost her life.

“Luck. Dumb luck. Terri noticed mud in the father’s tires and David talked to someone at Tibbs’ office who said he hadn’t answered the phone Friday morning when they called. He said he’d unplugged the house phone so it wouldn’t wake Zoe up, but we dug deeper. Turns out his cousin owns a cabin north of here. We found her buried in the back.”

Charlie sat forward and pulled Don into his arms. There were so many platitudes he could use, but they were all empty.

“Mrs. Tibbs? This has to be rough on her.”

“She had to be sedated when her husband confessed. Damn it, Charlie, I should be used to this!”

“No,” Charlie said, “you should never get used to this. And you won’t. You care too much.”

“Yeah? I thought I was _detached_.”

Charlie winced. “Don, I was upset when I said that and I-I shouldn’t have. I hope you know I don’t really believe it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Don pulled away and leaned back against the glider.

“It does matter.” Charlie leaned back with him, reluctant to lose their closeness. He placed his hand on Don’s chest, right over his heart, and concentrated on feeling the beat beneath his palm.

“You always say numbers don’t lie.”

“They don’t.”

“Then how come when I do the addition on this one, two plus two equals five?”

“Because you’re missing a variable.”

Don frowned. “A variable. And how do you know when there’s a missing variable?”

“When it doesn’t add up.”

“That’s just circular reasoning, Charlie.” Don sounded frustrated.

“No, it’s not, because you know that two plus two equals four, therefore, when you come up with five instead, you then know that there’s an unknown variable, X, in your equation.”

“In this case a father who can’t control himself and ends up killing his four-year old daughter.”

“Yeah.”

“So two plus two always equals four.”

“Yep. Except when it doesn’t.”

“Charlie!”

Charlie ignored Don’s exasperation and cupped his chin, leaning in for a quick kiss. Don was feeling relaxed enough after their talk that he pulled Charlie close and kissed him back. Charlie had missed Don. Missed talking to him, touching him. He pushed closer and deepened the kiss.

Inside the house, the front door opened and closed. “Hey, where is everybody?”

Charlie pulled back, but didn’t let go of Don. “Dad’s home.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you staying here tonight?”

“No.” Don ran a possessive hand down Charlie’s side and squeezed his ass. “I need to go to my apartment.”

Charlie shivered at the look Don gave him. “Good.”

“Need to pack a bag?”

“No, I’ve got enough stuff at your place. I just need to get my laptop and notes for class.”

“Okay, let’s go see Dad.” Don stood and pulled Charlie up with him.

“Don?” Don turned to look at him. “I know it’s hard for you to see right now, but you did good.”

Don stared at Charlie as if he could see inside him, then nodded. “Thanks.”

Alan stepped out onto the porch. “Hey, there you are. Didn’t you hear me call?”

“We were just coming in, Dad,” Don said. “How was book club?”

“Fine, fine. Want some coffee?”

“No, I’ll never get to sleep. But I heard there might be some chocolate cake around here somewhere.”

“If Charlie didn’t eat it all,” Alan said as he led the way to the kitchen.

“Hey.”

Don turned back and grinned at him. “Hey, Charlie. What do we add up to?”

“Six,” Charlie said, without hesitation.

Don’s grin widened. “A perfect number, huh?”

Charlie grinned back.

The End

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [the perfection of the whole](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4763747) by [Spikedluv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikedluv/pseuds/Spikedluv)




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